Pneumatic-despatch-tube carrier



RVTAISEY. INEUII/IATIC DESPATCH TUBE CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 12| 19|?.

Patelltedl (Ict. Ill, 1921..

vFREI) TASEY, OF LOWELL, IWASSACI-IUSETTS,` ASSIGNOBLTO THE LAI/[SON COIlI-iv PANY, OFBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION-OF NEW JERSEY.

i rNEUMario-nnsraroH-'runii UARSRIER.

reeafiee.

for unloading or for facilitating the unload# ing of said carrier.

Another object of the invention is to pr vide an improved closure for carriers, `which on account vof its positive action, neatness of construction, and the `elimination of the usual flatcli, especially commends itself to meetthe exacting requirements of carrier service;

Still another object of the invention is to so combine the article ejecting means with the closure of the carrier as to reduce the number of movable parts substantially to a minimum and to correspondingly simplify the construction of the carrier as a whole.

i These and other objects of my invention will be hereinafter referred to andthe novel combination of means and elements whereby said objects may bel obtained, will be more `particularly: pointed outlin the claims appended hereto.

i `ln the accompanying drawing which forms; a part hereof and `in which like ref'- erence characters designate like parts in the respective views, If have exemplified a preferred embodiment of' my invention; but as I am aware of various changes and modifications which maybermade herein without departing from the spirit of the invention, l desirefto be limit ed only by the scope of said claims.` .1" j., j i f f 1 `Referring` to `the drawing 1 Figure 1 is a side elevation of the im* proved carrier, partly @broken away to show the details j of `construction thereof.

Fig.` 2`is avfragmentary `detail section, i.

taken on the'line lla-ll of Fig. 1.

"Figx 3` is a bottom view of the carrier, showing the cover in' its closed positioin `Fig. 4` is asimilar view with the cover initsopen position, i

Fig. 5 is a detail section taken on line V'V `.Qi Eig- 2: t

Specification of Letters Patent.

raeeiiteaoet. ii., leal.

Application filed .Tune 12, 1917. Serial No'."174=,369. Y

, Fiom 6` is a similar section taken on line vivi of Saai figure; and i Fig. 7 is a side elevation, broken away in correspondence with the lower end ofthe sectioned part of Fig. 1, but showing` a modification of the latch hereinafter described.

The lcarrier preferably consists of a tubu- `lar body l, made of leather, fiber, or the like; a brass cup or cap 2 being riveted fast upon one end of said body.

This cup is shown in its inverted position in Fig. 1, and has secured to the bottom or outer flat surface thereof the usual felt head 3, orthe like, this head being conveniently held in position by means ofbolts 4, the heads of which are countersunk into a disk or plate 5, which is receivedfinto a recess-6 in theface of the head 3.

A plate or strip 7 acts as a nut which is common to both of the bolts; the latter being screwed thereinto, and preferably having their ends peened over, as shown, to prevent inadvertent separation of the head from the carrier proper.

At the lower end of the carrier shown in Fig. 1,`is a skirt 8 of flexible leather, to aid in maintaining pressure back of the carrier during its propulsionV through the tube in which it travels.

A. strip or plate 9, of sheet metal or the like, is riveted longitudinally to one side of the interior wall of the carrier; this strip preferably being bent, as at 9, to better conform it to the curved surface of the carrier,

while at the same time preserving a flatsui1- face longitudinally down the middle of the strip, to provide a bearing for the flat strip or rod 10, hereinafter referred to.

Near its inner end, the strip or plate 9 is slit laterally and inwardly from the respective edgesthereof, to permit the tongues l1 to be turned in, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 5, to `substantially embrace or inclose the strip` 10; while .i corresponding slits are formed in the plate 9 relatively near the outer end thereof, to permit the formation i of corresponding, but preferably shorter tongues 11 j The slidable connection or strip 10 carries on its inner end meansl for engaging the innerextremity of the papers or other article which may be emplaced in the carrier, to the j end that when said connection is partly withdrawn, said papers will be correspondingly forced out or ejected from the carrier.

iio

The means in question is most conveniently formed by simply bending over the inner end of the strip 10, at substantially right angles, as shown at In order to maintain the construction as simple as possible, the outer end of said Strip 10 is notched inwardly or cutaway, as at 12, so that prongs of the bifurcated end, thus formed, may be turned or rolled over, as at 13, to provide bearings for the pintle 14 which unites the strip 10 to the cover shank 15; the inner end of this shank being correspondingly cut away as at 16 and the so formed laterally disposed prongs being overturned as at 17 to provide bearings for the extremities of the pin or pintle 14. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, therefore,

the bearings 13 are disposed between `the bearings 17and the shank 15 is pivotally connected to the strip 104 by the pintle 14.

On the pin 14 and between the bearings 13 is disposed a light coil spring 18, the re- Y l spective extremities 18 ofwhich bear against the strip 10 and shank 15, so as to tend to swing said shank around at right angles to the strip 10 as indicated in dotted lines in F ig. 1; these lines representing the positions of the engaging device and cover when the latter has been unlatched andv the former partly withdrawn from the carrier.

The shank 15 is preferably integrally united to the closure 19, and as shown in VFigs. 1 and 3, said cover is preferably sul stantially circular, in correspondence with the cylindrical tube, and is provided with a recess 19, into which the fingerV may be inserted when the carrier is to be uncovered and its contents removed. it is obvious however that the closure may be of any suitable shape to provide a stop to prevent inadvertent egress of the load inthe carrier during transit.

` The plate orstrip 9 is slotted through-.its

outer end as at 20, to receive a tongue 2l. whichis struck out from the shank 15; said tongue being preferably ,formed by slitting the shank as at 21 and driving the so formed'tongue out atan angle to the body of the shank.

To open, the operators finger is pressed against the point designated A, in F 3, to vwithdraw the tongue 21 from the slot 2O 'in'which it is .seated and permit the cover being drawn outwardly, at lirst substantially axially of the carrier. After the pintle 14 has cleared the edge of the carrier Y body, the cover is then free lto swing around into parallelism with the strip 10, as shown in Fig. .1.

As abovestated, the spring 18, tends to impart this swinging movement to the cover and to so positioni Y As the cover is thus drawn bodily awry from the receptacle, the load ejecting end of *the strip 10 pushes the roll of papers or other articles which may be in the carrier, outwardly, so that said papers may be conveniently grasped by the fingers, or may be ejected completely out of the carrier, if the strip is pulled out suddenly.

rlhe connection 10 is preferably closely guided by the plate 9 and its tongues 11 and 11,so that the normal movement of said connection is always in parallelism with the axis of the carrier preferably, the said connection is formed of spring metal, which tends to prevent its being inadvertently bent permanently out of shape; since the strip can be bent still farther to the left than is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, when said handle is in its outermost position, by reason of the resiliency of strip 10, the entry of papers into the receptacle or removal of papers therefrom is facilitated.

On account of the action of the spring 18, when the carrier is unloaded and placed, for eXamplc,head down-as when standing upon a desk,-the shank 15 can in such case drop down into engagement with the edge of the skirt 8, so that the cover occupies substantially the position that it would if it were hinged in ordinary fashion to the receptacle, and disposed in an open position, substantially parallel to the axis of the carrier; except for the added advantage that in the present construction the plane of said cover is somewhat farther removed from said axis than would be the case if the cover had been directly hinged to the edge of the receptacle. As a result, papers or the like may be most readily introduced into the carrier, and thereafter when the fingers are placed upon the cover and it is rocked around through and thrust inwardly, it engages any of the papers which may have projected slightly above the edge of the receptacle and drives them down into said receptacle.

Since also, the spring 18 normally tends to rotate the cover or closure with respect to the connecting strip 10, in the manner above described, as soon as the cover has been pushed completely into its closed position and released, said spring rotates the shank 15 clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 1, to introduce the tongue 21 again into the slot 20, and thereby latch the cover. The inward movement of the cover in the manner described is limited by the engagement of the bent end 10 with either the plate 7 or inner ends of the bolts 4.

lllhile the rotatably mounted cover such as that described is convenient, the joint between the shank 15 and strip 10 may be avoided for economy and durability if desired by forming these parts integrally as shown in Fig. 7, the resilient strip 10 having an impressed backward bend to withdraw the integral bent cover 19 out of line with the body of the carrier when open.

In this case as there is no need for providing clearance for the end 18 of any coil spring, the lugs. struck up from the plate 9,

i nearthe outer end of the latter, need not be `ent strip out short like those designated` 11,.but may be full length, as at 11. Herein, however, as in the previously described construction, the lugs 11 which replace the lugs ll, should preferably be disposed sufficiently inwardly from the mouth of the receptacle tovmake provision for the requisite disengagement of a locking tongue 21 formed on Strip l0 from its slot 20, to enable thewithdrawal of the connection 10 and its attached parts. The resilient action of said stem tends to keep said tongue 2l in its slot, when the cover 19 is in its closed position; while this same resilient action also tends when the closure iswin itsoutermost position, to swing said closure more or less away from the axis of the receptacle, to favor the introduction of articles into the latter or their removal therefrom; the general course of the exposed part of this resili- 10 being indi-cated in dotted lines in Fig. 7.

Whetherfthe cover be made separate from its slidable connection` or integral therewith, is substantially immaterial, however, in so far as the general mode of operation of the device is concerned; but the provision of a hinged cover, `,such as that shown in Fig. l, except for the slight `additional expense,` is to be preferred; since, as above stated, it permits of the emplacementof the entire length of the stem 10 within the receptacle when the cover is open and the device is standing or lying around on the desk. This position of said stem obviously prevents injury thereto.

It is also obvious that the cover forms a handle whereby the article engaging means can be operated; and while this handle has been shown in the form of a cover or closure,

. I do not desire to be necessarily limited thereto.

In general, both of the above described embodiments of my invention, afford a practical carrier in which articles such as papers or the like, may be safely despatched; neither the carrier nor its contents being subject to injury, as by a rear end collision between closely following carriers in course of transit; while it will be particularly observed that there is no latch on the cover which is separately movable with respect to the latter, and hence more or less subject to injury; and, moreover, there is preferably no latching device of any description on the side of the carrier away from or opposite the side at which the cover is hinged or otherwise attached.

The cover may be opened or closed with practically but a single movement of the hand of the operator; and if the ejector be provided in combination therewith, as shown,

the carrier can be unlocked, its cover opened and its contents either positively discharged or placed in a most accessible position for removal `from the carrier, all by said single movement. The importance of this simplicity of operation, as a time and labor saver, in an art wherein readiness and speed of operation is of substantially the first importance, is, of course, at once apparent. j

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1. A tubular carrier for pneumatic despatch' tubes, having an opening in one end thereof to receive articles to be carried, a closure device to prevent the "inadvertent egress of said articles from said carrier, means to mount said device for movement laterally with respect to the axis of said carrier and also for opening movement substantially longitudinally of said axis, said device having provisions to permit of lateral displacement thereof when in its closed position, and means to normally retain said closure device in its closed position and against longitudinal movement, after being closed, said retaining means comprising engageable locking parts which are inoperatively disposed with respect to each other when said device, as aforesaid, is laterally displaced as aforesaid, to permit of said longitudinal opening movement. j

2. In a carrier, the combination of a receptacle with a closure device therefor, means to mount said device for movement bodily outward from the mouth of said.

receptacle and also for movement substantially in the plane of said device, said means y havlng provisions normally tending, when said device is in its closed position, to resist movement thereof in a direction away from a determined side of said receptacle, and means, to co-act with said provisions, to hold said device against said bodily outward movement thereof when in its said closed position, said last mentioned means being rendered inoperative to resist said outward movement when said device is moved in the said direction away from said determined side of the receptacle.

3. In a carrier, thel combination of a receptacle with a closure device therefor, guides attached to one side of said receptacle, supporting means for said device having a `portion thereof in sliding engagement with atone side of the interior of said carrier and extending longitudinally of the latter, load ejecting means to engage the load to be despatched in said carrier, and operable by said slidable connection, a closure for said carrier at the outer end of said connection and operable together therewith, saidy closure being movable out of line with the interior of the carrier and being adapted for use as a handle to permit actuation of said slidable connection, and latching means to hold the slide and closure against movement relative to the carrier adapted to be released by a movement of said closure ina direction at an angle to that in which said connection slides.

5. In combination wthra pneumatic despatch tube carrier, a slidable connection to one side of the interior of said carrier and extending longitudinally of the latter, load ejecting means, to engage the inner end of aroll of paper or the like, which may constitute the load to be despatched -in said carrier, and operable by said slidable connection, a closure for said carrier at the outer end of said connection and operable together therewith, said closure when open being movable to a position to permit egress of the load from said carrier and constituting a handlel to .permit actuation of said slidable connection, and latching means, a part of which is disposed at the aforesaid side of said carrier, to co-act with a second part of said latching means carried by said connection, to restrain the latter against movement, said parts being separable by a movement of said closure in a direction substantially at right angles to that in which said connection slides.

6. A carrier for despatch systems Comprising a receptacle having a hinged closure free to move laterally when closed and latch parts for said closure to retain it in its receptacle closing position, said latch parts being on the side of said closure adjacent the hinge thereof and releasable on moving the closure laterally.

7. A carrier for despatch systems comprising a receptacle having a closure attached thereto adjacent to one side of said receptacle, latch parts for said closure to retain it in its receptacle closing position, said latch parts being on the aforesaid side of said receptacle, means to permit said closure to be moved bodily outward from said receptacle when said latch parts are disengaged, and provisions to permit said closure to be moved laterally with respect to the line of movement in which it travels when being moved bodily as aforesaid, to disengage said latch parts.

8. A carrier for despatch systems comprising a receptacle having a closure attached thereto, latch parts for said closure to retain it in its receptacle closing position, means to permit said closure to be moved bodily outward from said receptacle when said latch parts are disengaged, and provisions causing said closure to be moved at an angle to the line of movement in which it travels when being moved bodily as aforesaid.

In testimony whereof I have ailixed my signature, in the presence of two witnesses,

FRED R. TAISEY. lVitnesses Grenen A. AMSDEN, FRANK C. HANsoN. 

